I typed like 15, then I lost it, (purely my own stupidity) now I am going to attempt at least 10 but I have to go clean for company. ANd I promptly forgot half of what I alredy typed, sigh, 'If I only had a brain'

link to first 20

21. sleep together to share warmth
22. shower together to save on water (for kids or adults..umm but you aren't saving if you take more than twice as long to finish...)
23. line dry a load or two, or more.
24. use cleaning rags, not paper towels, pretend you are out of paper towels,a nd MIL is visiting, bet you can manage to survive without em! (wash rags in hot IMO though)
25. Use cleaning rags not reusable toilet scrubbers..or at least a toilet brush..though I can't stand the idea of a germy brush in my bathroom..I bought the wand kind and now I use the wand with a rag..toss or bleach after.
26. use backs of paper to make lists, color, or do math.
27. use starfall.com or one of many free sites online insted of buying the pay for my name brand
28. use the same books to teach both kids to read, use backs of paper for the writing practice..you don't actually need a billion worksheets.
29. read library books, if yours doesn't carry young readers ask them to get some! donate what you finish to get them started.
30. speaking of ask, many gardeners do not share cause they don't think anyone will want their stuff..ask, politly, and be open minded about what you get.

Err actually you wanted it, you wanted the treat/dress/vacation/splurge.

And you justified it to yourself..not that I am never justifying things..I want choclot..I do not need it, I did not 'have to have it'. I did eat it .

I want to bake for sunday school, I like to bake, I like to know what my kids (and me!) eat. I do not have to, I WANT to, and I often do.

Nothing wrong with breaking the budget, or including wants, just something wrong with the phrase 'I had to have it' no matter what you follow it up with.....

I have a problem with exaggeration, when I was a kid, I had to do a 'bazillion chores' I had a 'gazillion' books to pick up. I seriously had a problem. I now have to tell my kids a 'bazillion' times a day not to argue.

So of course I try (key word, 'try') to be conservative when it goes in print, or 'in screen anyway'.

100 is pretty conservative compared to bazillion anyway. I said I save money in 100 small ways a day. Now to find out how bad I exaggerated! I wont get it all today, I do need to go bake more and

1. AC on at 82
2. Jammies from DHs high school castoffs (that would be ancient, cause he is old .)
3. Soap foamer in the bathroom (while I don't waste that much soap, the two kids would!)
4. Water with breakfast...healthy and cheap (filter not bottled)
5. Homemade muffin for breakfast (not a pop tart!)
6. Computer was off all night.
7. Computer and internet are on power strips that were shut off, no phantom load (off is not all the way off, unless you do that)
8. Wait on shower till after I mow the lawn. Gonna need another after anyway
9. Speaking of mowing the lawn, I will be doing it myself.
10. While out I will check on my free trees. (gift from mother nature)
11. Also my free basil, and free lily (gifts from friend)
12. Leftovers for lunch
13. Kids playing with hand me down duplos (wonderful toys, but man they can be expensive!)
14. All three kids in hand me down Pajamas
15. Baking soda n water concoction on my poison ivy. It works!
16. Took baby to potty, not perfect, but saves a couple diapers a day
17. Speaking of the diaper it is cheap, bought in bulk. Sorry I couldn’t do cloth all the time, working on it.
18. grocery day, been a week, buying no premade, convenience foods. (The list: bananas
chonk o cheese
sugar white
sugar brown
eggs
blueberries
oil
vinegar
garbanzo beans - find in 5 minutes or skip - can or two
tomato sauce
milk X 5 - we have company coming
yogurt
try for meat under 2$ lb for the chili. no big if not
spag cheese - literally cut and pasted from husbands email)
19. Plans to bake from scratch muffins for Sunday school (then freeze em)
20. Plans to bake more sourdough bread (no I don’t make all the whole wheat, maybe later)

Ok I’ll put more up later. But so far we aren’t half way thru the day, I might not hit 100, but I will prolly come close.

I never use 'em!..well not never, but hardly ever.

As I was packaging up the boatload of baking I did last week, I realized I had no spare bread bags....I hemmed and hawed and tried to shove the four round loaves in a plastic container.....but in the end I had no choice, I had to go with a gallon ziplock..the first one I used in over two months!

I pack my mini muffins for sunday school in old yogurt containers (the big ones) I pack the big muffins in plastic, I pakc sandwhiches to go in a n old bread bag..the one the bread came out of..then I use the bag for the garbage. I pack most leftovers in plastic. lunches the same....I havn't used a sandwhich sized bag in oh a year..I havn't used the large ziplocks for anything other than non returnable food gifts!

Now I do have a foil problem, min loaves of bread as gifts do get wrapped in foil....fortunatly I am not that generous with my baking..so Id on't go thru that much!

K I learned how to get PDFs uploaded, and how to link to them..I am soo happy, I can't wait to test my new skill..but right now I need a nap!

Plus next week is looking way too busy..I have my mother comming on wednesday, poker on friday, Library and BILs brithday on Saturday, Church on Sunday (don't forget the snacks for all the rooms..)

I have 4! Sunday school rooms to bake for..plus mine if I want to eat (and I do want to eat!)

Collecting all the kids was rather interesting today..took forever. (oh the fourth kid is our neighbor..who moved and is not our neighbor anymore)

Well I am getting the hang of putting stuff up, but everything I do makes more work for my husband..the poor guy has no time to do everything..

He still hasn't shown me how to put a pdf up and link to it so people can download..and half the games are pdfs...

Not that I don't have things I could cut out, tonight is games, the afternoon is remote control cars (expensive startup but cheap to maintain..and the startup was prekids!)

But I am realizing that webdevelopment is not all it is cracked up to be! I like my job, taking care of kids and teaching...I would hate to be a full time webdeveloper!

The moral is I need to help my children find out what they want to do, and help them test it, GMC loved putting together his own site one page..cute ..but I did all the computer work still) but before I let him get to be 18 heading off for a carreer at it, I want to let him try his hand at all the work! I think most jobs have oportunities to 'test them' and I think kids should get more chances to do so..

Course since GMC said he wants to be a firefighter..I am not sure how to let him test that one out, but I can start by taking him to the local VFD..I am sure any firefighter would love to gush over it for a bit(I heard enough when my mother wa in it..and I have NO interest!)

while mowing the lawn yesterday (finally) I found out why I wait so long..the trees get a chance to take root..I didn't plant any, but I found 5 baby trees in my backyard..and a few up front...

Now where they come from I don't know, but they are there, and they are growing..and green, which is more than I can say for half my lawn!

I couldn't let the ones upfront grow they were too close to existing trees, but I did let two of the ones out back (pulled up one that was way to close to the other..figured no need to get competing trees, and trust me nothing lives when I transplant it!)..I especially like them cause they are on the 'hill' a steep incline in the back, I hate mowing it! (actually I don't mow it..it is partly weeds and one path to scramble down..whcih is actually trampled weeds)Trees mean I don't have to!

Well it would mean that if they grew.. I pulled up all the weeds aroung the roots, and left them as err 'mulch' which it really isn't but it is all I have..next time I make pasta I will dump the water there if I remember..so far it worked with one scruffy pine..well two actually one half way down the hill and one close by.

The only trouble is I have no idea what kind of trees they are..(two different ones)

Sunday we ran out of chocolate..normally that is ared flag to go imediatly to the store..do not pass go, do not collect 200$.

This week I managed NOT to go, we waited,

Monday..DH ate the last of the chocolate he had at work, and I mixed peanut butter with coco powder, butter and powdered sugar (actually really good).

Tuesday, I have no idea what DH did, but I baked muffins..and ate peanut butter with cocopowder (I am thinking of mixing it in bulk, rolling in balls and taking it to church..is very good)

Wednesday, I mixed chocolate syrup with milk, twice..but seemed to survive. (at this point I wasn't to concerned with DH, I was having enough troubles of my own) I also used the last of the flour to make pizza, and had to use some whole wheat (which my son loved, JC passed on)

Finally DH brought chocolate home wednesday night and today I had some..it was FAR better than last week...a little waiting does the palet good .

Today was a manic cleaning spree..lots of work done, lots of 'spring clenaing' (nevermind the season!) I found lots of spare toys that always get lost at the back edge of under a bed and managed to clear up some things..unfortunatly in all that I got nothing done on the website....I think avoiding things gets more houseworkd odne thatn anything! Fortunatly since most of my cleaning is the depressinve, barely enough, I always need the manic phase

However on a good note, we are not going shopping today..(grocery)

So while complaining about my difficulties leanring to get his program to work, I told my husband how easy things were in publisher..he suggested I get publisher to make a webpage..I had no idea I could edit a web[age in publisher! it has its own drawbacks, but at least the site works!

meaning I really have my own website!

Course I just put the outline up and waited to see what worked before I put more content up. and right now the buttons to submit stuff doesn't work . Oh well at elast I have a title, and a nav bar..two things I couldn't get to work before!

So I am now set on a website.

Thanks to all who offered ideas .

Now I remember...it isn't that easy to get a website set up! Links that don't work, frames that drift, text that is corked...it ain't that easy..

remind me to tell Nate and Jeffrey what a great job they are doing

Well after quite a bit of waffeling and debating, and hopefull attempts at not doing it alone, I have decided that a website would be cheaper and easier for me to maintain...

I just need to register the name and get some bandwidth/space. My wonderful and patient husband is searching out the cheapest option on that...but I really am not sure I want to make a long commitment..while I do still get some interest from my work (and boy does that make my day!) I do not know if I could recoup my costs...if it is just me and my dozen fans, I will never make the money, even if it is only 3$ a month (plus tax) on the other hand if I never try it I will never find out..and right now when I am CC free would be the time to find out....

In the meantime I am starting to write some of the ideas on word documents to cut and paste into whatever online method we get ..but I am afraid I won't be able to cut and paste, so I waffle on that too.

I am also debating, I wanted something you can sit with your kid and do..I was thinking of a 'game of the day, or game of the week' that would be emailed out in pdf format...then leave the printing up to parents..course if my dozen fans are like me the pdfs will fill up the inbox and nothing will get printed! though I would read teh idea part of the email, and IMO the more you read the more the information seeps in and starts to become part of your life....which is the whole reason I wanted to start this thing anyway...

Out of gas...I made the milk last, but I can't do much about the gas, especially when we had to go to the library on saturday...Ok we din't have to, we wanted to pick up a reserved book.

So off to the store for milk, bread, unsalted butter, raisins, apples, bananas, and yogurt.

If we can keep it to that I will be happy.

Well a couple days ago I turned the air to 82 instead of 80, I did it cause DH was complaining of being hot, I know normally you turn it down for that, but see if he was going to have to lug a fan around the house he might as well have a reason for it! That and I had been waking up each morning looking for a sheet due to cold, I figue my body was adjusting.

I turned it up two degrees, figuring if I was too hot I could turn it down one and still save a bit.

He finally complained yesterday cause the AC blasted hot air on him..it did that cause it had been off for 2 days, the hot air in the ductwork was comming out first! So for the better part of a week t was up, and he decided to leave it there, I have such a patient husband .

I am a picky cook, and the best deserts are made with butter..which is unfortunate, cause butter costs more than oil.

I was wondering this morning as my kids ate oatmeal with applesauce in it, if I could use applesauce instead of butter in a cookie or muffin, I know you can substitute it for oil, but not sure on butter....

I did, the vampires came, they put in a needle bigger than my delicate daughters finger. The blood flowed on down the line to the bag, it was shaken (not stirred) and mixed all around. Then after 5 minutes it stopped flowing. My little red blood cells did their thing and clotted up. I keep telling my kids that is what the blood is supposed to do, but in this case it is kindof bad. My blood had to be tossed because it clotted up!

I don't want to scare anyone off from donating blood, I am a nursing mother so I am prolly supposed to drink about 3 gallons of water for nursing, plus a gallon on top for the blood donation.

Plus they tell us after we get there that a good breakfast of protien and such is very important...I kindof thought it would just make you woozy if you forgot..which with three kids to get out the door I didn't exactly forget, I just choose to get a shower instead of a full breakfast (I did drink a carnation instant breakfast, honest)

So in 2 months I am going to try again, if UE is weaned, if not I'll skip it for a time. I just don't want to go to all that trouble for nothing.

Final words, if you are going to give blood:
EAT a good meal first
drink EXTRA water..

On the one hand overtime means more money....on the other hand overtime means less husband! I would prefer more husband..but more money will go into the EF, and more husband..well it just makes life more fun and easy...

Fortunatly for us, when he isn't here for dinner I tend to not cook expensive thigs, so Mac N cheese and ramen noodels get used more, or PBnoJ, not actualy good for my diet, since I don't like any of them and I eat lousy food later

Oh well. I'll live and the OT will not last long.

Tomorrow we are off to give blood and I packed some muffins to share (it is at the church) I also made some so that I can take some in on Sunday. Pumpkin and cranberry..both pretty good.

Apparently I lead a boring life. All I do is clean and teach...the fact that teaching is second only to healing in great gifts from God is prolly not important to those who think my life is boring..after all the only thing I do all day is teach..even the cleaning is teaching..you don't think I care how often the bathroom gets clean do you? I am a class four slob, slobbish enough to not care about toilets, but clean enough to put up a good front (heaven help us when the kids move out!)

So all I do is teach.....I teach reading, I teach swimming, cleaning, nutrition, building, math, science, gardening (those who can't teach!) I teach bike riding, health, home ec, writing, computer science, and secretary skills (you don't think I write my own grocery list do you?) I teach research..how else would I answer all their questions! frugality, balance, finances, goal setting, budgeting, and spending. I teach inventiveness (make do with what you have) I teach some home repair (or jury rigging) I teach language (mine and others) and much more.

Yet that is all boring, cause it is only teaching...to bad..more people could have better educations if less people thought teaching was so boring..

Now I need to go 'teach' house design...I love having enough duplos for a mansion. Shall I reserve a room in it for teaching? Nah..wouldn't want to be locked into one room all the time. Can't get much teaching done that way.

truthfully it wasn't free but it was using up a freebie.

I used shampoo, the foil pakets I got form dove..it worked great, and the kids loved playing with it..I am not sure how reusable it will be, but it sure does smell pretty.

First I have to prefice this with a tiny fact, my husband was a laundry incompetant whan I met him! Ok not totally, but I constantly used to ge asked questions (don't worry 3 kids later, he has it down pat)

He still however hates line drying, he likes the set and forget options, washer or dryer, he wants nothing to do with extra work.

I on the other hadn think that line drying is a viable way to save some money, maybe even same on wear and tear of some items.

Over the course of the summer we have spent plenty of time in the pool, and my husband has often been given the task of hanging the swimsuits and towels. We hang them in the guest bathroom over simple plastic hangers. I had been laboriously clipping everything ot the hanger with clothes pins. My husband put the pants on the hangers like the hanger was wearing it, it stays with no clip! He also lides the tops into groves (that the hangers have half the time)

RElly wish I had thought of this myself, it seems oso simple in retrospect! but I didn't, nd now I can hang a load of laundry in less time thanks to him!

I posted awhile ago about how many

diapering options there were.

apolgies, do not eat while reading this, it is about dipers and gross:










At the time I was using a good deal of cloth, but I found out line drying increased pollen in the house, and both UE and I are allergic to that. but honestly the part that brok the camels back was finding food chuncks in the diaper that wont come out and made it too the washer...ewww.

But I do still EC, and it is sooo cool to be able to say your baby was dry all day! but since he is only 9 months, he can't talk, which means if I don't take him he doesnt go. Not that he doesn't cry, but honestly I just don't get it...kid fusses I check if he already peed/pooped, I check if he is hungry, I check if he is hot..about 20 minutes later I might think hey wat if he needed a potty? then GMC comes over and says 'UE pooped' ah yep thats what he wanted, but mom was to dense to hear it. sigh. I would love to actually communicate with him.

In amongst my 'junk you just have to see' that wonerful people send me, I found this website that sends a 'thank you' note to the troops in Iraq.

lets say thanks

I filled one out, and what I think would be even cooler is for a kid to design a card. I am not sure my two would be allowed, but I would love to see the design of someone I know on there!

After JC puked (carsickness like her momma, no worries, just gross) my husband suggested he go to the store after dinner. I told him to wait till after work the next day, he whined 'but we need stuff!' umm like what? we actually have half a gallon of milk! and some chololate, life is looking good.

After reminding him he greed to wait a day, but it is funny how you can get into a mindset of 'gotta get it now' and forget the reality.

I have signs in my house saying 'you are a failure' I have lots of them!

I have one in the kids room, it is a stack of books that the kids took out of the bookcase, not one or two but, like ALL of them (and as a recovering bookaholic, that makes for a lot of books)

This morning as I dreaded trying to resolve some problems and turn some signs around I discovered my two kids sitting..with books....reading..or rather looking anyway (GMC can read, but JC cannot)

It seems those signs that said 'failure' to me said 'common over and check me out' to the kids...maybe I should get my eyes checked...